不久前，我悟出一个直白却令人忧心的现实：当许多国家放眼规划未来二十年发展蓝图时，我们却屡屡困在过往五十年的矛盾里反复内耗、原地打转。
放眼全球，各大城市纷纷重塑交通体系，高等学府全力攻坚前沿科技，各国政府大力投入科研创新、清洁能源、人工智能、医疗革新，以及众多尚未完全成型的新兴产业。各国都在直面关键议题：如何提升生产力、应对人口老龄化、强化气候抗御力，又该如何培育下一代，适应未来尚未诞生的新兴职业。
反观马来西亚，我们却耗费过多精力，深陷老生常谈的种族、宗教、族群身份与权益分配之争。
诚然，这些议题无法被刻意回避。马来西亚的历史脉络错综复杂，社会契约、多元族群格局与民众的情感顾虑都是真实存在的课题，需要以智慧与包容审慎应对。但理性包容地管理多元社会，与被族群议题绑架、困住发展脚步，完全是两回事。
如今，几乎所有公共议题，都会被无端贴上种族标签。
教育政策讨论，沦为种族博弈、商业发展议题，演变为族群对立、公务员任命，牵扯族群权益、房屋安居规划，划分族群界限等。就连善意的互助之举，有时也会被戴上种族有色眼镜审视。
当凡事都被种族议题裹挟，国家发展便寸步难行。这种无休止内耗，最大的代价从来不是民众的政治倦怠，而是被白白浪费的宝贵时间。别国潜心完善公共交通建设时，我们在相互争执；别国全力升级技职教育体系时，我们在网络上相互攻讦；别国摒弃陈旧口号、招揽人才、革新政务体系、打造高薪新兴产业时，我们仍在反复翻炒老旧矛盾。
时代浪潮滚滚向前，世界不会为深陷情绪内耗、停滞不前的国家放慢脚步。问问马来西亚年轻一代的心声，他们首要忧虑的，从来不是种族分歧。
他们担忧薪资涨幅追不上生活成本，苦恼拥堵交通消磨日常与家庭时光，无奈高不可攀、遥不可及的房价；更焦虑职场就业保障、心理健康问题、阶层流动停滞，被迫背井离乡，远赴外地谋生打拼。
当代年轻人务实且清醒。他们渴望社会公平，更期盼国家高效运转、民生稳步改善。
他们需要顺畅运作的轨道交通、畅通无阻的道路；需要因材施教的优质校园、守护健康的完善医疗；更需要务实解决问题的执政者，而非只会刻意制造对立、宣泄情绪的政客。试问，这些诉求，何错之有？
多元族群优势
怀揣梦想的应届毕业生，不会被上一辈无休止的族群争吵鼓舞；挣扎在租金与物价压力下的小微经营者，不会从人为制造的社会分裂中获益；养育子女的父母，更不愿看到族群对立的紧绷氛围，代代延续。
马来西亚，本该拥有更好的模样。事实上，多元族群格局，本应是我们最核心的发展优势之一。我国民众通晓多语言、文化适应力强、坐拥优越的区域地缘联结，多元的社会底蕴与文化魅力，令诸多国家心生羡慕。
我们熟知不同风俗文化、多元市场规则与差异化思维模式，在全球化时代，这是无可替代的宝贵资本。可一旦这份先天优势被刻意利用、沦为对立工具，优势便会沦为拖累国家前行的沉重包袱。
倘若我们始终畏惧多元差异，而非善用多元优势，国家的发展潜力只会不断萎缩。未来，永远属于崇尚能力至上、鼓励创新突破、跨越分歧凝聚共识的社会。
投资者不会关注一个国家是否在网络舆论争论中取胜，只会审视政策是否清晰稳定、行政体系是否公正可信、基础建设是否完善可靠、本土人才是否储备充足。普通家庭不会在意政客的言辞有多犀利，只在乎生活是否稳步向好、日子是否安稳幸福。
孩童不会纠结各族群过往的纷争输赢，他们只期盼明天拥有希望与曙光，正因如此，马来西亚亟需走向成熟。
领导者
我们需要懂得缓和社会对立、而非刻意激化矛盾的领导者；需要求同存异、理性分歧，拒绝恶意抹黑与人身攻击的民众；需要坚守内容价值、摒弃刻意煽动对立的舆论环境；需要少一点搜寻对立敌人的执念，多一份携手解决全民共同难题的共识。
包容多元，绝非抹杀族群身份与文化特色，而是不让族群分歧，成为束缚社会发展的唯一枷锁。自信的国度，从不畏惧多元，反而借力多元、驱动发展；务实的国度，不沉迷无意义的符号化对立，深耕关键的体制改革；远见的国度，不只计较当下的利益分配，更会思考要为下一代建设怎样的国家。
世界从不会静止等候，新兴技术不断迭代，全球供应链持续重组，气候危机日益严峻，人口老龄化加剧，全球人才竞争愈发激烈。懂得顺势变革、主动适应的国家，终将蓬勃发展；一味深陷内耗、偏离发展主线的国家，只会逐步落后。
马来西亚，依旧手握大好的发展机遇，我们坐拥优质人才、丰饶天然资源、关键战略地理位置、深厚人文底蕴与浓厚创业精神。国内各族群民众，只要拥有合作契机，日常便能和睦共处、携手打拼。
我们从不缺少发展的潜力，真正匮乏的，是凝聚共识、聚力前行的专注。
摆在眼前的问题，简单而直白：当全世界都在同心协力构筑未来之时，我们要选择并肩前行，还是继续困在彼此对立的争执里，错失时代机遇？
瑟丽娜《当我们深陷种族之争 他国已然构筑未来》原文：While We Fight Over Race, Other Nations Are Building the Future
Not long ago, I found myself reflecting on a simple but uncomfortable truth: while some societies are busy planning the next twenty years, we are too often busy replaying the last fifty.
Around the world, cities are redesigning transport systems. Universities are racing to develop new technologies. Governments are investing in research, clean energy, artificial intelligence, healthcare innovation, and industries that do not yet fully exist. They are asking difficult questions about productivity, ageing populations, climate resilience, and how to prepare their children for jobs that have not been invented.
Meanwhile, in Malaysia, we still spend far too much time trapped in predictable arguments about race, religion, identity, and who deserves what.
Of course, these issues cannot simply be ignored. Malaysia’s history is complex. Our social contract, our diversity, our sensitivities—these are real matters that require wisdom and care. But there is a difference between managing diversity responsibly and becoming imprisoned by it.
Too often, every conversation becomes racialised.
A discussion about schools becomes a racial issue.
A debate about business opportunity becomes a racial issue.
An appointment becomes a racial issue.
Housing becomes a racial issue.
Even acts of kindness are sometimes viewed through a racial lens.
When everything becomes about race, nothing moves forward.
The greatest cost of this is not political fatigue. It is lost time. While we argue, others are building better public transport. While we insult one another online, others are upgrading technical education. While we recycle old slogans, others are attracting talent, modernising government systems, and creating industries that generate high-paying jobs.
The world is moving quickly. It does not slow down to wait for countries stuck in emotional gridlock.
Ask young Malaysians what they worry about, and many will not begin with race.
They worry about whether wages can match living costs. They worry about traffic that steals hours from family life. They worry about housing prices that feel increasingly out of reach. They worry about job security, mental health, stagnant mobility, and whether they need to leave home to succeed.
Many young people today are practical. They want fairness, yes—but they also want function.
They want trains that work. Roads that flow.
Schools that prepare. Hospitals that heal. Leaders that solve problems instead of performing outrage.
And can we blame them?
A young graduate trying to build a future is not inspired by endless quarrels from another era. A small business owner struggling with rent and rising costs does not benefit from manufactured division. Parents raising children do not want permanent tension passed down as inheritance.
Malaysia should be stronger than this.
In truth, our diversity should be one of our greatest advantages. We are multilingual, culturally adaptable, regionally connected, and socially rich in ways many countries can only admire. We understand different customs, different markets, different ways of thinking. That is an asset in a globalised world.
But an asset becomes a burden when constantly weaponised.
If we continue treating diversity as something to fear rather than something to harness, we will keep shrinking our own potential.
The future belongs to societies that reward competence, encourage innovation, and build trust across differences.
Investors do not ask whether a nation is winning arguments on social media. They ask whether policies are clear, institutions are credible, infrastructure is dependable, and talent is available.
Families do not ask whether politicians delivered the sharpest speech. They ask whether life is getting better.
Children do not care which community won yesterday’s argument. They care whether tomorrow gives them hope.
That is why Malaysia must mature.
We need leaders who can lower the temperature, not raise it. We need citizens who can disagree without dehumanising one another. We need media spaces that reward substance over provocation. We need to spend less time searching for enemies and more time solving shared problems.
This does not mean erasing identity. It means refusing to let identity become the only story we know how to tell.
A confident nation does not fear diversity. It uses diversity as fuel.
A serious nation does not obsess over symbolic battles while neglecting structural reform.
A forward-looking nation does not ask only who gets what today—it asks what kind of country we are building for tomorrow.
The world is not standing still.
New technologies are emerging. Supply chains are shifting. Climate pressures are rising. Populations are ageing. Competition for talent is intensifying. Countries that adapt will thrive. Countries that remain distracted will slowly fall behind.
Malaysia still has every chance to succeed.
We have talent. We have resources. We have strategic geography. We have cultural depth. We have entrepreneurial spirit. We have people from every background who, when given the chance, work well together every single day.
What we lack is not potential.
Too often, what we lack is focus.
And so the question before us is simple:
While others are building the future, will we join them— or remain busy arguing about one another?
本文观点，不代表《东方日报》立场。
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